Maryland is facing a $3 billion budget gap and is considering a host of tax hikes. On March 24, 2025, the Maryland House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations amended the state’s budget bill, House Bill 352 (cross-filed with Senate Bill 321) to include, among other things, a proposal to expand the sales and use tax
Digital Economy
Texas Comptroller holds hearing on proposed data processing rule
On Friday, December 6, 2024, the Texas Comptroller held a public hearing in Austin, TX regarding the proposed changes to the data processing regulation (section 3.330) published in the Texas Register on September 13, 2024. Several parties submitted written comments in response to the proposed regulation, including the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA)…
D.C. Tax Revision Commission to no longer pursue business activities tax proposal; Engage in further research
On October 9, 2024, the D.C. Tax Revision Commission met to finalize their tax recommendations to the D.C. Council and Mayor. However, the Commission did not reach a consensus and instead opted to perform additional research.
The D.C. Tax Revision Commission’s last activity was to issue a Revised Chairman’s Mark in July 2024. That document…
NY high court to review tax on co.’s ad analysis services
This week, the New York Court of Appeals agreed to hear Dynamic Logic’s appeal regarding the taxability of its services that measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. The state Tax Appeals Tribunal previously held that the services were taxable information services in part because of the primary function test.
In this Law360 article, SALT…
After the gold rush: Proposed tax on data extraction transactions passes California Senate Committee
On May 8, 2024, the California Senate’s Revenue and Taxation Committee held a hearing on S.B. 1327, which would impose a 7.5% tax on data extraction transactions in California. The committee passed the bill by 4 votes to 1.
Peter Blocker, Vice President of Policy at CalTax, testified in opposition to the bill. He indicated…
California’s next bad idea: Another digital ad tax proposal
On May 1, 2024, California Senator Steve Glazer, Chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, unveiled another proposal to tax digital advertising. This time, Senator Glazer proposes to amend California Senate Bill 1327 to impose a 7.25% tax on “data extraction transactions in the state.”[1] This “data extraction transactions tax” (referred to as the…
Not an April Fools’ Day prank: Digital advertising tax introduced in California State Assembly
On April 1, 2024, the California State Assembly amended a digital advertising tax into A.B. 2829, formerly a property tax bill. As amended, A.B. 2829 would adopt the digital advertising tax effective January 1, 2025. The California proposal is similar to the Maryland Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, which is currently the subject of…
Update on Virginia’s consideration of taxing digital products
The Virginia General Assembly passed the 2024-2026 Biennium Budget (House Bill 30) that would expand the sales and use tax to “digital personal property” and certain digital “taxable services” as of January 1, 2025.
The General Assembly’s conference report resolved differences between the House and Senate budgets, respectively, on the sales tax treatment…
Virginia Budget Bill introduced, taxes digital products and computer services
Governor Glenn Youngkin has issued his proposed Virginia 2024 – 2026 Budget Bill. The Budget Bill would make three notable changes to Virginia’s tax structure, all of which would take effect on January 1, 2025: (1) increase the sales and use tax rate; (2) expand the sales and use tax base to digital products; and…
States get sassy with SaaS
The sales taxation of software has long been controversial. When sales of software became commonplace in the 1970s and 1980s, it was largely available and commercially distributed on a tangible medium. Today, software is provided in ways that do not constitute the transfer of title or possession of tangible personal property, such as the Software-as-a-service…